🇮🇩 Indonesia orders 12 PC-24 and signs LOI for PC-21 trainers

 

The Indonesian Air Force has ordered 12 Pilatus PC-24 aircraft to support transport pilot training, air transport and liaison missions. The contract was signed with PT E-System Solutions Indonesia and includes an option for additional aircraft, as well as ground support equipment, spare parts, training and technical assistance from Pilatus Aircraft.

The PC-24 was selected for its operational flexibility. It is certified for single-pilot operations, features a cargo door and can operate from short and unpaved runways. These characteristics make it suitable for a wide range of missions, including IFR training, transport and liaison duties, while improving access across Indonesia’s dispersed geography.

In parallel, a letter of intent has been signed for the acquisition of 24 Pilatus PC-21 turboprop trainers. The package would include ground-based training systems, spare parts, support equipment and technical assistance, pointing to a broader expansion of the training system.

The PC-24 acquisition is confirmed, while the PC-21 programme remains subject to further negotiations. Together, they indicate a structured approach to training and transport, aligned with the operational demands of a country composed of thousands of islands.

🇨🇦 Canada’s First PC-21 Takes Flight

Canada’s next-generation military pilot training system has reached a visible milestone: the first production Pilatus PC-21 for the Royal Canadian Air Force has completed its maiden flight.

The aircraft, designated CT-157 Siskin II, flew from Pilatus’ facilities in Stans, Switzerland, marking the transition from contract award to tangible delivery under Canada’s ambitious Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) program.

In 2023, the Government of Canada selected the FAcT program consortium — led by SkyAlyne — to replace the long-running NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) program.

At the core of the new advanced training phase is the Pilatus PC-21, a high-performance turboprop already in service with multiple air forces worldwide.

Canada is acquiring 19 PC-21 aircraft, which will be designated CT-157 Siskin II in RCAF service. The fleet will form the backbone of advanced pilot training at CFB Moose Jaw.

The FAcT program is designed as a comprehensive, long-term training solution — not just aircraft procurement, but an integrated system including simulators, courseware, and contractor support.

Deliveries to Canada are expected to begin in the second half of 2026.

The PC-21’s selection is closely tied to Canada’s broader force modernization, including the acquisition of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.

The PC-21 offers:

• Advanced glass cockpit architecture
• Embedded simulation capability
• Performance envelope sufficient to replicate many fast-jet mission profiles
• Cost efficiency compared to legacy jet trainers

This allows more training hours to be conducted on a turboprop platform before transitioning to frontline fighters.

Spain’s first PC-21 enters ground testing phase

Pilatus has conducted the first engine run of a PC-21 trainer for the Spanish air force. 

Photographed at the airframer’s Stans site in Switzerland on 2 December, the lead aircraft has already been painted, and carries the air force registration E.27-01. 

Madrid on 30 January 2020 signed a €204 million ($247 million) contract to acquire 24 of the turboprops, along with simulators and support services. 

At that time, it said the first six aircraft would be delivered in 2020. Spain will use the Swiss-built type to begin replacing an aged inventory of 60 CASA C-101 jet trainers, which Cirium fleets data shows have been in use for up to 40 years. 

flightglobal

LEONARDO TO SUPPLY COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM FOR PILATUS PC-21 ORDERED BY SPANISH AIR FORCE

Pilatus has contracted Leonardo to supply its RT-700/A V/UHF airborne communications system and other equipment for installation on PC-21 trainers ordered for the Spanish air force.
Announcing the award earlier this month, Leonardo said its contract also includes the provision of cockpit control panels and associated electronics for the turboprop-powered type.
Deliveries of Spain’s PC-21s are scheduled to commence this year, with the type to enter service in 2021. Madrid is acquiring 24 examples under a €204 million ($222 million) deal to replace its aged CASA C-101 jet trainers.
flightglobal

France receives first two Pilatus PC-21 training aircraft

The French Air Force has received its first two PC-21 training aircraft, the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), France's defence procurement agency, announced on 31 August. The advanced trainers arrived at the FAF's fighter training school in Cognac on 30 August for checks.
Babcock Mission Critical Services France, with Pilatus as a subcontractor, will provide a fleet of 17 PC-21s, two full mission and three training simulators, mission preparation systems, and support and associated infrastructure for eight years. Delivery is scheduled to be completed in 2019 and training in the middle of that year.
janes

Australia signs contract for PC-21 trainer

A consortium led by Lockheed Martin has been formally awarded a A$1.2 billion ($870 million) contract to train Australian Defence Force (ADF) pilots using Pilatus PC-21 aircraft.
The ‘Team 21’ consortium, which includes Pilatus Aircraft and local MRO provider Hawker Pacific, was announced as the preferred tenderer for the pilot training system requirement in September.
Included in the deal is the acquisition of 49 PC-21 trainer aircraft, seven flight simulators and updated courseware for an initial seven-year term from 2019.
flightglobal

Afghanistan to receive PC-12 SIGINT aircraft

The Afghan National Army Special Operations Forces is to receive five Pilatus PC-12 SIGINT aircraft.
The contract awarded to Sierra Nevada Corporation by the US Department of Defense, is a modification to a 2012 contract for 18 "uniquely modified" PC-12/47E turboprops for the Afghan Army .
The contract for initial 18 aircraft is due to be completed in July. The new contract should see the five SIGINT aircraft in Afghanistan by the end of the year.
janes

Pilatus delivers additional PC-21 trainer to Royal Saudi Air Force

Pilatus has shipped another PC-21 expanded envelope trainer aircraft off its final assembly line for the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF).
The aircraft represents the 100th turboprop trainer PC-21 to be rolled off the company's final assembly line in Switzerland.
Saudi Arabia ordered 55 PC-21 aircraft in May 2012.
The deal also covered the delivery of 22 Hawk 165 advanced jet trainers.
The PC-21 will also replace RSAF's existing PC-9 trainer fleet, which comprises 47 aircraft that were delivered by BAE as part of a package deal with Hawks to Saudi Arabia in the mid-1980s.
The RSAF took delivery of the initial six aircraft in June 2014. The remaining aircraft are currently in production, while the instructors are preparing for their first student courses.
The PC-21 is currently operated by the air forces of Singapore, Switzerland and the UAE, and has also been ordered by Qatar.
airforce-technology

BAE Systems in talks to weaponise India's Hawks

The Indian Air Force is in negotiations with BAE Systems to weaponise its fleet of Hawk Mk 132 advanced jet trainers so they could be deployed on strike co-ordinated armed reconnaissance and close air support missions.
The IAF is evaluating the feasibility of integrating its largely licence-built Hawk Mk 132s with a range of weapon systems that are fitted onto its SEPECAT Jaguar fighters.
This includes MBDA's Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missiles, Rafael Litening targeting pods, and a range of smart weapons.
By 2016-17 the IAF will operate 106 Hawks and the Indian Navy another 17, making India the largest operator of the type. The IAF plans to acquire another 20 Hawks for its aerobatics team, disbanded in February 2011 after its HAL-built Surya Kiran HJT-16 Mk I and Mk II aircraft were diverted to train fighter pilots.
IAF fighter pilots begin their instruction on Pilatus PC-7 Mk II tandem-seat basic turboprop trainers for 55 hours before moving onto the Kiran HJT-16 Mk I and Mk II intermediate jet trainers for another 70 hours. Thereafter, they graduate to Hawk Mk 132s for two 'semesters' of 135 hours before going on to operate fighters.
janes

India likely to order 106 more Pilatus aircraft to train pilots

India is likely to go in for 106 more Swiss Pilatus PC-7 basic trainer aircraft (BTA), the bulk of which will be produced domestically, to help train rookie IAF pilots in a project worth around Rs 7,000 crore.
This comes after defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics' attempt to develop its own BTA called HTT-40 failed to pass muster with the defence ministry. First, it would have been much more expensive than the Pilatus BTA already being inducted by IAF. Second, it would have not met the timelines specified long ago.
So, the defence acquisitions council (DAC) is slated to consider the case for 106 additional Pilatus at the meeting to be chaired by Manohar Parrikar on Saturday, say sources.
One option is to buy 38 Pilatus off-the-shelf, with the rest 68 being produced by the 5 Base Repair Depot (BRD) of IAF at Sulur. Other options could include importing only 10 BTA, with 96 being made in India.
imesofindia

First PC-21s head for Qatar

Pilatus has delivered its first two PC-21 trainers to Qatar, with the pair having left its Stans manufacturing site in Switzerland for the Middle East on 29 September.
Registered as QA 353 and 354, the two-seat aircraft are among eight to have been completed so far, under a deal for 24 of the type signed in July 2012.
flightglobal

Qatar to receive Pilatus PC-21 by year end

The delivery of Swiss trainer aircraft Pilatus to Qatar remains ‘on schedule,’ Swiss Ambassador Martin Aeschbacher has told Gulf Times.
Two years back, the Pilatus aircraft manufacturer had landed the major deal, which included the sale of a fleet of 24 PC-21 trainer planes to Qatar, as well as a package of ground-based training tools, logistical support and maintenance.
gulf-times

Saudi Arabia gets first six PC-21 trainers

Pilatus has commenced deliveries of its PC-21 trainer to Saudi Arabia, with two batches having left the airframer’s Stans site in Switzerland so far this month.

An initial three of the turboprop-powered type took off from Stans on 2 June for their ferry flights to the Middle East, with these carrying the registrations 905, 906 and 907.
One week later, a second batch – comprised of aircraft 908, 909 and 910 (below) – also departed Switzerland for Riyadh.
Acquired as part of a training package also to include 22 BAE Systems Hawk advanced jet trainers, the six PC-21s transferred are the first examples from what will become a 55-strong fleet by early 2016. This volume will make the Royal Saudi Air Force the operator of the largest fleet of the design, which has also so far been supplied to Singapore (19), Switzerland (8) and the United Arab Emirates (25).

Pilatus in February also performed the first ground tests with a PC-21 for Qatar, which will receive 24 of the type later this year.
flightglobal

India Wants Domestic Production of Pilatus Trainers

After contracting 75 basic trainer aircraft from Pilatus in 2012, India wants to buy an additional 106 that would be license-built by a domestic company.
But domestic defense firms find the proposal uneconomical, and state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) is pushing its own homegrown basic trainer, though the Indian Air Force has already rejected it.
The request for information, described by the defense industry as the first of its kind, asks selected domestic companies if they would participate in the proposed program to build 106 Pilatus PC-7 Mark-II trainers under license in the “Buy and Make (Indian)” category, which restricts contracts to domestic defense companies and requires that at least half of the components and subsystems come from domestic sources.
Domestic companies, in turn, find the “Buy and Make (Indian )” program for Pilatus uneconomical because of the limited order. A chosen domestic company and the Swiss original equipment manufacturer would produce the trainer. However, no domestic partner has so far confirmed talking to Pilatus on the program.
HAL is also developing a homegrown trainer and is trying to block the proposed Pilatus program.
A HAL official said the basic trainer it is developing, the HTT-40, would be more advanced than the PC-7 as it will have weapon-firing capabilities and other advancements. The HTT-40 is expected to fly by 2015.
Last year, the Air Force proposed that HAL license-produce the Pilatus aircraft but HAL rejected the proposal, saying it was working on its own project.
defensenews

Saab, Pilatus To Promote the PC-21 if Sweden Seeks New Trainer Aircraft

Saab and Pilatus Aircraft will cooperate in bidding the Swiss company’s PC-21 if the Swedish Air Force opt to replace its SK 60 trainer.
Cooperation on the trainer is part of a wider possible tie-up the two companies agreed to when they inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the Swiss capital Bern March 28.
Plans to create an aerospace software development center and a separate aerostructures business in Switzerland are included in an MoU.
Switzerland is holding a referendum in May on whether the country should purchase 22 Gripens to replace a fleet of aging F-5’s.
The Swedish Air Force has been flying the Saab-built SK60 since the 1960s and have for some time been reviewing whether it needs to replace the twin-jet machines.
Pilatus talked about a possible order for PC-21 for Sweden.
The Swedish aerospace company upgraded a number of SK60s following the signing of a contract in September 2009.
Some 67 aircraft were upgraded but only 35 machines are required for current Swedish training requirements.
Last December Saab moved to extend its trainer aircraft interest in a team deal with Boeing to design a new trainer to compete for a US Air Force requirement to replace T-38 jet trainers.
defensenews

India To Buy More Pilatus PC-7 Mk. 2s

The Indian air force has decided to urgently buy 106 PC-7 Mk. 2 Basic Trainer Aircraft from Pilatus, pulling the plug yet again on state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which is also making an aircraft for training junior pilots.
The PC-7 be acquired from the Swiss company under the “Buy & Make (Indian)” category, in accordance with India’s defense procurement policy.
India is already taking delivery of PC-7 Mk. 2 aircraft from Pilatus under a contract for 75 such aircraft signed in 2012.
Pilatus will have to form a joint venture or establish a production arrangement with an Indian company to execute the contract.
A Request for Information (RFI) calls for delivery of aircraft and equipment to begin by 2015-16, with all 106 PC-7 Mk. 2’s to be delivered by 2020-21.
aviationweek

First Qatari PC-21 enters ground test

Pilatus conducted the first engine ground runs with a PC-21 for export to Qatar.
Aircraft QA 350 is the lead trainer from a 24-unit deal signed in July 2012. This also includes ground-based training systems and associated equipment for use at a new training academy for the Qatar Emiri Air Force, plus maintenance services.
The PC-21's entry into ground testing comes ahead of scheduled deliveries from mid-2014. Training activities with the type are due to commence during 2015. All 24 aircraft are due to be delivered before the end of the same year.
Qatar will become the fifth nation to introduce the new-generation PC-21, following Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.
flightglobal

Lockheed Martin, Pilatus Team For Australian Trainer Bid

A second team has revealed its intentions to bid for the Australian Defence Force’s fixed-wing Pilot Training System contest, along with the Oct. 3 announcement that Lockheed Martin and Pilatus will join forces to exclusively offer the PC-21 platform.
BAE Systems, CAE and Beechcraft announced in September its intention to enter the Beechcraft T-6C Texan II for the competition.
The deal signed between Lockheed Martin and the Swiss manufacturer is an exclusive agreement regarding the PC-21, meaning no other competitor can select the platform.
A Request for Tender for AIR 5428 was released to industry Aug.t 2 and will close in February.
defensenews

IAF to HAL: Build Swiss trainer aircraft, don't develop your own

Indian Air Force chief, Air Chief, has sugarcoated his bid to import 106 basic trainer aircraft from Pilatus Aircraft Co, by proposing that Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) build the trainers in Bangalore to blueprints supplied by the Swiss company.
HAL, which is designing its own basic trainer for the IAF - the Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) - has flatly rejected the proposal. The company has allocated Rs 130 crore of its own money to continue developing the HTT-40, which is projected to fly by 2015.
Last year, the IAF purchased 75 PC-7 Mark II trainers for 557 million Swiss Francs . Pilatus has delivered at least 15 of those trainers.
When the purchase of 75 trainers from the global market was approved in 2009, it was decided that HAL would simultaneously design and build 106 trainers. But, in July,the IAF chief wrote to Minister, savaging HAL's proposal and recommending this order be handed to Pilatus.
business-standard

Lockheed, Pilatus, Hawker Pacific bid for RAAF basic trainer deal

Lockheed Martin, Pilatus and Hawker Pacific have formally entered the competition for Canberra’s Air 5428 pilot training system requirement.
The offer will be based on the three companies’ existing training of Singapore Air Force pilots under the Basic Wings programme in Perth, which uses the Pilatus PC-21 basic trainer aircraft.
The trio will promote their offering as “Team 21”. They are the second group of companies to formally enter bidding. In September, BAE Systems announced that it would enter the competition with CAE and Beechcraft, with an offering based on the Beechcraft T-6C Texan II.
Since 1992, BAE has operated the Australian Defence Force's Basic Flight Training School (BFTS) at Tamworth, which provides ab intio training and pilot screening for all ADF pilots using a fleet of Pacific Aerospace CT-4B piston trainers.
Boeing, Thales and Raytheon are also expected to announce bids.
Currently, pilots who graduate from the BFTS are then posted to the Royal Australian Air Force's No 2 Flight Training School at RAAF Pearce in Western Australia for advanced training on the Pilatus PC-9/A, after which they are posted to an operational squadron.
Under Air 5428, the respective training aircraft would be replaced by a new integrated training system run by the successful contractor. Australia would also likely acquire the same aircraft for use with the RAAF's Aircraft Research and Development Unit and Forward Air Control Development Unit.
flightglobal